Help Lesotho reaches hundreds of girls for leadership opportunities in 2008
2008 Girls Leadership Programmes Summary
The following chronicles some of the Help Lesotho events and activities to engage young girls and promote girls as leaders in Lesotho. Funds are also applied to the development and reproduction of materials for training in leadership and gender equity which will be used for years and impact thousands more young women. Gender equity and female leadership is a core focus for Help Lesotho and many more mentoring and development sessions were held throughout the year.
Further Information
In 2008, many events and trainings were conducted surrounding HIV/AIDS, Gender Equity and Leadership by Help Lesotho, reaching a total of over 2,540 participants, of whom 75% or 1905 were girls and young women.
January 1217: The 3rd annual HL Leadership Camp took place at the facilities of Pitseng Secondary School. 202 participants (students, youth, teachers and principals, of whom 63% were female) came together to participate in a 6 day interactive and supportive environment to learn valuable life skills, build self-esteem, meet new friends and continue becoming the leaders of tomorrows Lesotho. Discussions, modules and activities around HIV/AIDS, gender equity and the development of leadership
skills made up the focus of the camp. Forty-six young women tested for HIV a huge accomplishment- with only 3 receiving a positive result; much lower than the national average for this age group, suggesting positive results of HL HIV-related programming. Several dozen girls submitted speeches on gender equity and leadership to compete for two scholarships. Two aspiring young leaders were chosen as winners. They read their speeches to the assembly of 250 people, had their work posted on the HL website, at the camp and in participating schools. These speeches are read by young girls in remote villages and hundreds of young girl-leaders in Canada and internationally.
February 16: Youth-Led Sports/HIV/Leadership Event at Joy to the World Secondary School as a leadership opportunity for girls and many young boys. This Saturday event drew crowds of over 780 to participate in running races, group activities and education around HIV/AIDS and Leadership. HL worked with partner organization Olympic Youth Ambassador Program (OYAP) to teach leadership skills and healthy decision making through participatory games and with Population Services International (PSI) to provide information about HIV/AIDS and voluntary HIV counseling and testing to participants throughout the day.
February to May: Four young women leaders-in-training received a full day session each week from HLs Youth Leadership Officer in topics such as HIV/AIDS, Gender Equity, Leadership, Healthy Decision Making, and Community Development. Throughout this period, participants also received on-the-job training in construction during the building of HLs new community center, providing them with valuable employment skills and experience.
June 16: The Help Lesotho Seotlong Center opening; a ceremony included hundreds of villagers in the celebration of the completion which allowed programming to begin at the center: Library services, peer tutoring, book clubs, grandmother support days, storytelling, youth group meetings, partner organization workshops such as child protection, youth HIV/Gender Equity and Leadership events, volleyball tournaments and girls groups. Girls in HL leadership training were involved at all aspects of planning, facilitation, community organization and engagement and review of the event for lessons learned.
October 24-26: The Third Annual Young Womens Conference (Step Up and Speak Out) took place in Hlotse, Leribe. 30 young women came together from various districts and schools for 4 days of intensive training in an all-female environment on issues relevant to young women in Lesotho; namely HIV/AIDS prevention, issues around gender equity, healthy decision making, deciding what types of relationships to accept, and discussions around self-image and self-esteem.
November 6, 13, 21: Help Lesotho Youth Corps received facilitation training with support from American Peace Corps. Attention is focused on modules for use in school HL anti-AIDS clubs in order to provide more support to the students around issues of HIV/AIDS, gender equity and leadership. The Youth Corps were trained in module content as well as facilitation skills such as active listening, teaching content and leading a group discussion.
December 6: HIV and Gender Equity Education Event, Pitseng. Over 550 people from surrounding communities, including the Leribe District Gender officer and local chiefs, joined the HL youth leaders at the new Seotlong center to watch dramas, listen to poems and speeches and learn about HIV prevention and issues around gender equity. Testing for HIV was also available from partner organization PSI and was in such high demand that a second day (below) was scheduled to accommodate additional community members.
December 12: Follow up HIV and Gender Equity Education Event, Pitseng. Over 110 people returned to the Seotlong center to take advantage of additional opportunities to test for HIV following the December 6 events popularity.
Young girls as leaders participate in all such activities and are funded for transportation, food etc in order to participate. Each opportunity involves many preparatory meetings and consultations to develop these wonderful young women to be able to conceptualize, plan and execute community activities the product of leadership. They are trained in the role modeling involved and how to engage other girls in their villages to take care of themselves and believe that they too can be leaders.
It is impossible to quantify the processes and success of these activities in full as lives are being changed on a daily basis in small ways and now in larger ways. For example, two of our outstanding young women leaders started at the National University of Lesotho in August of 2008 and return to help and role model as often as they can, feeling a strong commitment to making a difference in the lives of other girls, they way these activities have done in their own development. One young woman after four years of training has joined the HL staff and regularly participates in these activities to inspire other girls.
In addition, beginning in September 2008, Help Lesotho is providing a year on-the-ground training to a talented Canadian woman in her mid-twenties in gender equity and leadership development activities and skills for her career commitment to African girls leadership programs.
Help Lesotho also selected and hired a full time Girls leadership Officer to head up its girls leadership programs, funded by Sentebale.
Although HL holds gender-specific activities for young women leaders, it is important for young men to participate to see these wonderful role models and learn about girls as leaders. This is perceived to be essential for the future of this country.
Clink here for more information about Help Lesotho
January 1217: The 3rd annual HL Leadership Camp took place at the facilities of Pitseng Secondary School. 202 participants (students, youth, teachers and principals, of whom 63% were female) came together to participate in a 6 day interactive and supportive environment to learn valuable life skills, build self-esteem, meet new friends and continue becoming the leaders of tomorrows Lesotho. Discussions, modules and activities around HIV/AIDS, gender equity and the development of leadership
skills made up the focus of the camp. Forty-six young women tested for HIV a huge accomplishment- with only 3 receiving a positive result; much lower than the national average for this age group, suggesting positive results of HL HIV-related programming. Several dozen girls submitted speeches on gender equity and leadership to compete for two scholarships. Two aspiring young leaders were chosen as winners. They read their speeches to the assembly of 250 people, had their work posted on the HL website, at the camp and in participating schools. These speeches are read by young girls in remote villages and hundreds of young girl-leaders in Canada and internationally.
February 16: Youth-Led Sports/HIV/Leadership Event at Joy to the World Secondary School as a leadership opportunity for girls and many young boys. This Saturday event drew crowds of over 780 to participate in running races, group activities and education around HIV/AIDS and Leadership. HL worked with partner organization Olympic Youth Ambassador Program (OYAP) to teach leadership skills and healthy decision making through participatory games and with Population Services International (PSI) to provide information about HIV/AIDS and voluntary HIV counseling and testing to participants throughout the day.
February to May: Four young women leaders-in-training received a full day session each week from HLs Youth Leadership Officer in topics such as HIV/AIDS, Gender Equity, Leadership, Healthy Decision Making, and Community Development. Throughout this period, participants also received on-the-job training in construction during the building of HLs new community center, providing them with valuable employment skills and experience.
June 16: The Help Lesotho Seotlong Center opening; a ceremony included hundreds of villagers in the celebration of the completion which allowed programming to begin at the center: Library services, peer tutoring, book clubs, grandmother support days, storytelling, youth group meetings, partner organization workshops such as child protection, youth HIV/Gender Equity and Leadership events, volleyball tournaments and girls groups. Girls in HL leadership training were involved at all aspects of planning, facilitation, community organization and engagement and review of the event for lessons learned.
October 24-26: The Third Annual Young Womens Conference (Step Up and Speak Out) took place in Hlotse, Leribe. 30 young women came together from various districts and schools for 4 days of intensive training in an all-female environment on issues relevant to young women in Lesotho; namely HIV/AIDS prevention, issues around gender equity, healthy decision making, deciding what types of relationships to accept, and discussions around self-image and self-esteem.
November 6, 13, 21: Help Lesotho Youth Corps received facilitation training with support from American Peace Corps. Attention is focused on modules for use in school HL anti-AIDS clubs in order to provide more support to the students around issues of HIV/AIDS, gender equity and leadership. The Youth Corps were trained in module content as well as facilitation skills such as active listening, teaching content and leading a group discussion.
December 6: HIV and Gender Equity Education Event, Pitseng. Over 550 people from surrounding communities, including the Leribe District Gender officer and local chiefs, joined the HL youth leaders at the new Seotlong center to watch dramas, listen to poems and speeches and learn about HIV prevention and issues around gender equity. Testing for HIV was also available from partner organization PSI and was in such high demand that a second day (below) was scheduled to accommodate additional community members.
December 12: Follow up HIV and Gender Equity Education Event, Pitseng. Over 110 people returned to the Seotlong center to take advantage of additional opportunities to test for HIV following the December 6 events popularity.
Young girls as leaders participate in all such activities and are funded for transportation, food etc in order to participate. Each opportunity involves many preparatory meetings and consultations to develop these wonderful young women to be able to conceptualize, plan and execute community activities the product of leadership. They are trained in the role modeling involved and how to engage other girls in their villages to take care of themselves and believe that they too can be leaders.
It is impossible to quantify the processes and success of these activities in full as lives are being changed on a daily basis in small ways and now in larger ways. For example, two of our outstanding young women leaders started at the National University of Lesotho in August of 2008 and return to help and role model as often as they can, feeling a strong commitment to making a difference in the lives of other girls, they way these activities have done in their own development. One young woman after four years of training has joined the HL staff and regularly participates in these activities to inspire other girls.
In addition, beginning in September 2008, Help Lesotho is providing a year on-the-ground training to a talented Canadian woman in her mid-twenties in gender equity and leadership development activities and skills for her career commitment to African girls leadership programs.
Help Lesotho also selected and hired a full time Girls leadership Officer to head up its girls leadership programs, funded by Sentebale.
Although HL holds gender-specific activities for young women leaders, it is important for young men to participate to see these wonderful role models and learn about girls as leaders. This is perceived to be essential for the future of this country.
Clink here for more information about Help Lesotho
